Daniel Zamudio- the "wake up call"

In 2013, Daniel Zamudio was brutally beaten and murdered in a park because of his sexual preferences. He was 24 years old. Obviously, there was widespread shock in Chile, even those who weren't particularly accepting of homosexuality where shaken by the cruelty of the murder. Daniel was found in between some bushes with a broken leg, swastikas carved into his skin, and covered in urine. This event triggered many responses, resulting even in the passing of an anti-discrimination law to prevent something similar from happening ever again. 

It has now been two years, and although it's a reduced amount of time, it has allowed for at least some objectivity when looking back. A book called Perdidos en la noche (which translates to Lost in the night) analyzes the context within which the crime took place and reaches some very interesting conclusions. Although Daniel is evidently the victim, he is not the only one. All of those involved where also victims (yes, including the murderers) of miserable social conditions, of abusive families and extreme poverty, of denied opportunities. Had these young men been given the same opportunities as a high class kid attending a private school, it would've been very unlikely for them to commit that murder. Upon a first glance there is no doubt that they are the ones responsible, but upon further inspection, there is a whole society to be blamed for not handing this youth the necessary tools for life and condemning them to a cycle of poverty.

Although, to what extent does social injustice justify the horrendous crime? In my opinion, it does not justify it at all, but rather brings to attention other problems more deeply ingrained in society. What's done is done and those responsible must be held accountable for their actions (which they were, the main aggressor was sentenced to life in prison). The main point of jail is to protect society from dangerous people, if they happened not to know any better they should be taught better, but also do their time and learn that grave actions have grave consequences. Of course this calls to a whole process of reforming Chile's judiciary system and society in general. Prisons should provide an opportunity for learning and repenting, not for corruption, and an ideal society should provide it's members with enough opportunities and education so that they are able to distinguish between wrong and right. Of course all of this is wildly out of reach and probably won't happen within the lifespan of the vast majority of Chile.

Let the murder of Daniel Zamudio serve as a reminder not only of discrimination against minorities, but also of the deeper problems in our society that push people into a cycle of theft and poverty by robbing them opportunities that should be granted to them as a right by birth. This is not a problem that can be solved by creating a few laws, this is a matter of creating a profound and widespread change in the way our community works and thinks. 

The 25th Hour

Whenever something happens that disrupts the regular order or routine, it always comes along with a very intense existential questioning, sometimes working as a wake up call, reassuring or disproving previous values. When Monty is convicted, he triggers this questioning in all the people that are close to him, similar to the effect caused by the attack on the twin towers.
In the case of Monty, the most evident reaction is his wondering what could've been had he stopped drug dealing earlier, the life he could've had, all of this evidenced in his conversation with Frank at the club. Parallel to this illusion, there is a much more practical aspect to his personality and the need to have everything settled by the time he goes to jail. He gets Doyle a new home, settles (and ends) his business with the russian drug dealers, tries to convince Naturelle to live her life, basically, he puts an end to all the things belonging to his previous life in preparation for his time in jail. Monty's character shows an interesting dichotomy between dreaming for a life he can't have anymore and at the same time facing what needs to be done by separating himself from his feelings.
Meanwhile, Jacob, one of his best friends, seems to face important moral decisions regarding one of his students. He particularly questions what it is he stands for and the things he is willing to do, the bulk of moral questioning in the movie resides in this character. While at the club, he has trouble standing up to his student, which leads him to do things he normally wouldn't ever have done. Regardless, his moral crisis eventually leads him to reaffirm his values, staying true to what he portrays throughout the movie despite getting lost in the way.
Finally, there is Frank, who, compared to the other two, is the one who changed the most, or at least revealed the most about himself. He starts out as a cold character, someone who's full of himself and therefore doesn't really consider other people and their feelings, which can be seen especially when he goes out with Jacob. Although, as the movie goes on his outer shell begins to crumble beginning to show a much more fragile side to him, and also showing how much he cares about the people around him. The peak moment of this fragility is when Monty asks him to "make him ugly." At that point, all of the feelings that had previously been bottled up rush out, ending in frustrated tears and Monty getting beaten up. What's most important, though, is that Frank only starts beating Monty when he punches Jacob, which shows a significant change from the beginning, where Frank would bully and ridicule him in front of others, making it seem as if he didn't really care that much for Jacob.